Solar Energy Siting Facilities

Energy
is an essential resource and local governments are now looking toward renewable
sources (i.e. wind, geothermal heat, water flows, biomass, and sunlight) as energy
demand and greenhouse gas emissions increase.
The California Renewable Energy Resources Act (SB 1-2) requires California
electricity providers to provide at least 33 percent of power from renewable
sources by 2020. The state has also set
the goal of 1 million solar roofs by 2020. As a resource for achieving this
goal, cities and counties have access to an unprecedented amount of funding for
solar energy technologies and projects from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009.

Many
cities and counties have had success balancing solar energy promotion while also
protecting agricultural land and wildlife habitats. One way to do this is through an ordinance
that offers streamlined permitting processes only to solar facilities that are
located in areas where there is existing electrical infrastructure or minimize
significant impacts on the local environment.

Local governments can encourage solar energy facility
siting in a number of other ways, such as implementing solar access ordinances
or easements, streamlining procedures for permitting and connecting systems to
the energy grid, prohibiting restrictions imposed by homeowner associations,
including solar energy mandates in local building codes and standards, creating
financing solutions, establishing incentive programs, and training installation
contractors. Any solar
energy facility siting program or regulation consists of definitions of the
type, scale, and extent of allowable solar devices, the types of structures or
uses affected, and the allowable angles at which the solar easement may extend
over the real property.

The first step for creating solar energy facility programs or
regulations is to organize and strategize a local solar effort by creating an
advisory committee, hiring a solar coordinator, and gathering information on
existing conditions and potential goal targets.
This comprehensive effort should include an assessment of a community’s
policy environments to identify existing solar requirements and investment,
existing financing and future funding opportunities, potential energy
compensation, and prospective system installation and interconnection. Additionally, local governments should survey
residents, businesses, and stakeholders to establish the demand for solar energy in the community, the local
industry’s ability to meet demand, and local perceptions of the cost,
effectiveness, and reliability of solar technologies. By conducting an installation baseline study,
local governments can gather information on all solar energy installations that
already exist in the community and the community’s level of experience with
solar development. This information may
then be used to establish targets for the type, number, and sectors of solar
installation and may include indicators for installed capacity to meet climate change or greenhouse
gas reduction goals.

Once local governments have acquired background information and
community input, they may begin to incorporate solar energy facility programs
or regulations into broader city or county planning efforts such as the general
plan, a climate action plan, community master plans, or local building or
zoning codes. When developing solar
energy facility programs or regulations, local governments should consider
including all of the following best practices:

Make solar affordable for residents and
businesses by offering rebates or tax credits, loans or financing programs,
power purchase agreements, or renewable portfolio standard percentages to
residents and businesses.

Update and enforce local rules and regulations
with solar access policies, solar building guidelines, streamlined solar
permits, or code official and installation training.

A joint initiative of San Joaquin Valley Councils of Governments representing each of the region's eight counties, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, the Great Valley Center, and the Fresno State Community and Regional Planning Center